Eight Years of Peace and Prosperity Don't Know Much About History #5

 Dwight D. Eisenhower was first elected in 1952 and reelected in 1956.  He came to the presidency after a distinguished career in the military where he led the allied forces against Hitler planning and executing the D-day Invasion of France.

Both major parties would have been thrilled to have him run for president in 1952 and he easily defeated Adlai Stevenson, Democrat from Illinois.

It is said his military background and experience were keys to ending the shooting part of the Korean War.  

Another "accomplishment" of the Eisenhower Administration was the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 which did little to advance civil rights for African Americans but it was the first civil rights legislation since the 1870's.  It added a Civil Rights Division to the Department of Justice.  The legislation passed with broad bi-partisan outside of the still segregated Jim Crow southern states.

The Eisenhower Administration sponsored and signed the Federal aid Highway Act which began the Interstate Highway Act which was also sold as important for defending the country.

The Federal Budget which was much smaller was balanced three times and the deficits were much smaller.

Like it or not the Eisenhower Administration relied on nuclear weapons in the Cold War, and while supporting France in Viet Nam, and supporting friendly rulers who might be less than democratic he kept us out of shooting wars.

In his Farewell Address he warned the country about the development of a military industrial complex that would be hard to control and spend too much money. 

Times were different back then.